Cottonwood AZ (April 5, 2019) – The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus performances at the Camp Verde Community Center Field on Tuesday, April 16 will be met with peaceful protests from local Verde Valley community members. Protesters will meet at the site at 4:15 PM, preceding the 5 PM show, and again at 6:45, preceding the 7:30 PM show.
“These small traveling circuses are troubling” said Karen Mellio, protest organizer. “When animals are brought into the mix, it is no longer a show that provides entertainment and wonder, but rather a show that has cruelty and neglect at its root. This circus has had numerous violations since 1991. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited them dozens of times. They have a history of neglecting to provide the animals with adequate veterinary care, food, space, and shelter.”
A USDA report states “Federal inspectors found Culpepper & Merriweather had put people at risk by keeping large, dangerous animals in cages that lacked the strength to stop them from getting out and harming the audience.” Over the years, it has had elephants on the loose in small-town Kansas, camels sneaking out of their enclosures to graze, and farm animals joining a pair of elephants for a jaunt in California.
The circus travels with a variety of acts, several of which include animals, including dogs, ponies, a lion named Frances, and two tigers named Delilah and Solomon. The animals perform in over 300 traveling shows per year.
“I don’t like seeing the animals like this,” said 11-year old Brandon McKissick. “If other kids knew what was happening to the animals they wouldn’t want to go, either.”
The Culpepper & Merriweather’s Circus has been taken to court on several occasions. In 2011, a judge suspended its license for six months after she found the circus “willfully failed” to develop a plan for veterinary care, didn’t provide proper care for a tiger cub, and had a “shockingly cavalier attitude” toward the health and safety of its animals.
Animal rights activists across the nation celebrated last year over the closure of Ringling Bros. circus, after 100 years in operation. Ringling Bros was perhaps the best-known circus in the nation. According to the company’s news release at the time, the famed circus closed its doors due to high operating costs and a decline in ticket sales. Prior to shutting down, Ringing Bros had phased out elephant acts in the wake of criticism, including from the Humane Society of the United States, and a fine of $270,000 to the US Department of Agriculture for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Bans on circuses using live animals in performances has been gaining popularity. There are over 40 countries around the world and numerous municipalities in the United States that prohibit the use of circus animals.
“It is my hope that people will see others speaking out and that they will stop to think about what goes into these traveling circuses. There are so many other great family activities that don’t involve small cages, lack of exercise, physical abuse, and exhaustion for living, sentient creatures. We just want people to think about that. Anyone willing to speak out for animals that cannot advocate for themselves is invited to join us,” says Melillo.
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